With the American flag draped around his power chair, Paola resident and American veteran Gene Farmer, lead the VA 2K recently. Farmer served proudly in the Navy and is a member of the Paola American Legion. He joined over a dozen other people in the VA 2K that left from the Paola VA on Memorial Day Weekend. The Kansas City VA Whole Health Department sponsors an annual VA National event for Kansas City Veterans Administration. It is held at the main hospital campus as well as at each of the community clinics. The purpose of the event is to promote a healthy, active lifestyle for VA employees, veterans and community members while raising awareness and supporting the homeless veterans in local communities.
Sheila Roth, who serves as Health and Wellness Coach for local veterans through the Kansas City VA Whole Health Program, says there are 41,000 homeless veterans in the United States. The KCVA has made great strides in addressing homelessness in the Kansas City Metro area.
